(Former Name : T Hon G Nha T Hos Pital), Ho Chi Minh , V Ie Tnam
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Tran Dinh Quyen, Vi Dan [For the People] hospital (former name: Thong Nhat hospital), Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, 1972. © Pham Thuy Loan, 2016. ESSAYS Modern Architecture in Vietnam or Vietnamese Modern Architecture? BY PHAM THUY LOAN AND TRUONG NGOC LAN Architecture is one of the keys to the values of a society, a reflection of a people’s aspiration, and a society’s ideas and technological experiments over periods in its history. This paper will address “modern architecture in Vietnam” focusing on the general course of its development: its practice, discourse and the built environment throughout history. The guiding questions for the main content of this paper are very fundamental: How can we define modern architecture in Vietnam? How was it formed and developed through the modern history of the country? Can we call modern architecture in Vietnam “Vietnamese modern architecture”? The Analytical Framework public gardens, and grand facilities such as theaters, schools, The mASEANa project offers a definite approach to the issue libraries and hospitals were put into use. The fundamental when it states that “the history of modern architecture in base for modernity to take shape was urban infrastructure, Asia is the history of how Asians have become modern; and which had not existed in Vietnam before. Grand road net- 57 – 2017/2 has evolved through sustained interactions with the West”. works with sidewalks for pedestrians separated from auto- In other words, modern architecture accompanies moderni- mobile flows, networks of water supply, sanitation, electric- ty, or modernism, having undergone numerous upheavals in ity, communication as well as greenery, were implemented. history, from colonization, decolonization, westernization, One of the most remarkable modern works of that time docomomo through industrialization, and urbanization, to nation-build- was the Paul Doumer Bridge (1898-1902). It was a beautiful ing and globalization. These are various phenomena that iron bridge that consumed 30,000 m3 of stone, 5,600 tons of help define and shape Asian modernism today. laminated steel, 137 tons of cast iron, 165 tons of iron and 7 In this regard, we would like to go back to the beginning tons of lead for the construction. of Vietnam’s modern history with milestones, emphasiz- The second aspect of modernity could be found in ing external influences and seeing how these encounters buildings and architecture. Buildings of various Western of modern thoughts shaped our modern architecture and styles were constructed in many cities. In the early colonial generations of Vietnamese architects. period, French architecture was directly imported to Hanoi: Essays classical style, French regional styles, neoclassic or Art Nou- French Colonization (1858–1954): veau. The most typical and outstanding examples of these Strong Encounter with the West types were the Hanoi Opera House (1901-1911), and the Res- The French colonization period lasted almost a century in idence Superior of Tonkin (started 1917) illustrating traces Vietnam and Indochina. The quasi-feudal/colonial regime of modern architecture as seen on Art Nouveau entrance left a remarkable legacy in Vietnam; architectural heritage canopies. Until 1920, almost all the significant buildings in is nowadays one among many other assets. Hanoi were built by French architects. Together with these very exotic styles, they brought into Vietnam new construc- Before 1920 tion technology and materials, such as reinforced concrete, When the French conducted their first colonization steel, glass, cement, etc. program, they undertook major construction works in the The third aspect of modernity was demonstrated in the larger cities in Vietnam: public buildings, housing projects, social transformation of Vietnam. Local intellectuals began infrastructure systems, ports, railway stations and facto- absorbing new ideas from abroad, thus gradually deviating ries. That was a significant period when comprehensive from Confucian thoughts. Movements and organizations modernity was brought into Vietnam for the first time by for cultural and educational innovation like “Duy Tan”1, the French. “Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc”2, “Khai Tri Tien Duc” (AFIMA)3 The first aspect of modernity was reflected in urban accelerated the change in the local people’s awareness and planning. The French conducted a number of master plans lifestyles. With the perspective of learning Western civili- for Hanoi, Saigon, Haiphong, Dalat city, etc. Western town zation while preserving and developing traditional cultural planning principles of the grid, axes, boulevards, parks and identity, these movements and organizations exercised their 75 01 Daydé & Pillé Firm, Long Bien bridge (former name: Doumer), Hanoi, Vietnam, 1898-1902. © Nguyen Phu Duc, 2015. influences on the first Vietnamese modern buildings. An serve their colonial administrative systems. The Indochina exemplar building of this kind was the AFIMA Head Office College of Fine Arts was founded in 1925. The Faculty of in Hanoi, which was designed in 1920 and completed in Architecture, established one year later, educated the first 1922. This building combined Western spatial organization generation of Vietnamese architects. Earlier, construc- and construction technologies with Vietnamese traditional tion in Vietnam had been carried out by carpenters and form and ornaments. Unlike the old Confucius rectangular builders based on indigenous knowledge and experience. 57 – 2017/2 layout, its sector-shaped floor plan contains new functions This historical benchmark laid an important foundation for like a billiards room, an auditorium and a dancing hall. the formation of the architect as a privileged profession in Vietnam until today. docomomo From 1920 to 1945 Before 1945, most of the Vietnamese architects played After WWI, the French implemented their second coloni- a minor role in the French design offices as assistants only. zation program for economic recovery in Vietnam. Con- Some of them opened their own design offices, but their struction activities and urban expansion were carried out. practice was limited to small-scale private villas and houses. Ernest Hébrard (1875-1933) – a famous French architect Those first architects were greatly influenced by Western – came to Vietnam and made a great impact on Vietnam- thinking and they quickly absorbed new knowledge, skills ese architecture. With his sophistication and talent, he and building techniques which they applied to their prac- created a mixture of Western technology and adaptation tice with great passion. However, in this context of being Essays to local climate and culture. Remarkable buildings by him influenced by the West, they developed a kind of resistant were the Department of Finance (1924-1928, present-day thinking when they wanted to confirm their characteristics Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Louis Finot Museum (1925-1931, and national identity as well as vernacular architecture in present-day National Museum of History) in Hanoi; and their designs. They disregarded the discrimination of the Pétrus Ky high-school (1927, present-day Le Hong Phong French and expressed their patriotism, national pride and high-school), in Saigon. Art Deco also came to Hanoi in the desire to create projects that would match the local this period. Many Art Deco buildings became important characteristics and conditions, promoted the utilization of landmarks in the city such as IDEO Print Factory (Imprim- Vietnamese traditional elements in architecture. erie d’Extrême-Orient, 1929), Bank of Indochina (1931), Shell One of the best-known names of the time was architect oil company headquarters (1938). Huynh Tan Phat (1913-1989), who graduated as an architect With Ernest Hébrard’s role as a pioneer of the so-called from the Indochina College of Fine Arts in Hanoi in 1938. Indochina style, buildings in this period shared a common In 1941, he opened the first private Vietnamese architecture expression of eclecticism of foreign styles and vernacular firm ever in Saigon. He was among the first of the Vietnam- details from Vietnam, China, Khmer and Champa. Luckily, ese modern architects to design several beautiful modernist many of these buidings still remain today as part of our villas in Saigon and Dalat. Huynh Tan Phat joined the architectural heritage. Communist Party later that same year as a full member and became Ho Chi Minh’s (1890-1969) trusted comrade from The First Generation of Architects: the south. He was a modern architect who paved the way The Indochina College of Fine Arts (1925) for a modernist revolution in architecture of the country. Modernism was intensively developed when the French started training local intellectuals and technicians to 76 02 Un-specified architect, AFIMA head office, Hanoi, Vietnam, 1920-1922. 03 Ernest Hébrard, The National Museum of History (former name: Louis Finot © Truong Ngoc Lan, 2016. Museum), Hanoi, Vietnam, 1925-1931). © Nguyen Phu Duc, 2015. From 1945–1954: Indochina War development of modern architecture in this period: firstly, The period 1945-1954 was full of upheavals in the world’s both governments made great efforts to build infrastruc- history as well as in Vietnam’s history. On March 11st 1945, ture systems and urban facilities with different sources of the Japanese army overthrew the French protectorate investment: both domestic mobilization and overseas finan- government in Vietnam and took control of the whole cial aid programs. Secondly, new development trends in country. But only a few